AOA Decals is a relatively new aviation decal with an impressive variety in 1/32, 1/35, 1/48, 1/72 and 1/144 scale. Their product line primary focus is Vietnam era aircraft. Although a relatively young company, their quality and attention to detail rivals all other decal companies on the market. The decal set comes with one large decal sheet and a six-page, full color instructions.

This decal set for the Cessna O-2 Skymaster, also known as the “Oscar Deuce” is designed for the 1/48 scale ICM kit. There are fifteen different subjects that can be made and three different paint schemes (Gray, Black and Southeast Asia) to choose from in this set. Three of the paint schemes are for the O-2B which AOA provides a brief history, as well a statement that an O-2B is not released. AOA is ahead of the game for when ICM or another model manufacturer releases a B model Skymaster.

Paint colors are all specified in Federal standard numbers which can easily be translated to most paint manufacturers. Depending on what subjects you select, there are enough decals to make at least two aircraft per decal set. The six-page instruction sheet has one page dedicated to stencils and standard markings. This page also covers general painting notes including painting of the propellers. One of the highlights on the stencil instruction page is data and descriptions on ordinance (including useful loads), antennas, wheels, and pylons. These notes give relative timeframes on what data is relative to that time frame. The remaining sheets show and describe each subject. The subject I decided to build has a small Kangaroo on the tail which first caught my attention. Then the sheet states that that aircraft was lost and the pilot was killed in action, and that solidified my decision. These short stories on the instruction sheets really put a personal spin on a subject which is a driving feature when selecting a decal set.

This is one of the most comprehensive decal sheets I have seen. Very fine work from AOA and I plan on going to AOA decals first on future builds. It is nice to see a company covering the Vietnam era subjects with this much dedication. AOA will be producing decals for more aircraft in the future and I cannot wait to see what is next. I would like to thank AOA Decals for this review sample.